SUBSIDY FOR RICE FARMERS. Almost 95,000 rice growers in Western Visayas have been identified as recipients of the Financial Subsidy for Rice Farmers under the Department of Agriculture. As of Wednesday (May 13, 2020) PHP474 million has been earmarked by the agency for the distribution of the PHP5,000 one-time cash assistance for beneficiaries in the region. (PNA Bacolod file photo)
BACOLOD CITY – A total of 94,953 rice growers in Western Visayas have been identified as recipients of the Financial Subsidy for Rice Farmers (FSRF) under the Department of Agriculture (DA).
As of Wednesday, about PHP474 million has been earmarked by the agency for the distribution of the PHP5,000 one-time cash assistance for beneficiaries in the region.
DA-6 Regional Technical Director for Operations and Extension Rene Famoso said the cash grant aims to support farmers most- affected by the impact of the Rice Tariffication Law.
“As of now, we have available funding in the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) for 10,601 rice farmers of Aklan and 939 farmers of Capiz,” he added.
In Negros Occidental, some 20,488 small rice growers are targeted to receive cash assistance.
Details on the release of funds for beneficiaries in other provinces were not yet available.
Farmers registered in the updated Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and who are tilling one hectare and below rice farm can avail of the cash subsidy to buy farm inputs and other necessities.
Engineer Jose Albert Barrogo, DA-6 team leader for Negros Occidental, had earlier urged farmers to use the cash assistance for their families’ basic needs and farm inputs, such as seeds and fertilizers, for the first cropping season.
DA is aiming to assist 591,246 farmer-beneficiaries through the financial assistance from the initial PHP3-billion budget.
An additional PHP3 billion was earlier released under the 2020 General Appropriations Act, to further augment the needs of the farmers who are affected by the quarantine measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Meanwhile, the DA-6 has also allotted PHP1.06 billion in seed and fertilizer subsidies for the region’s rice farmers during the wet cropping season from June to November.
The project is under the agency’s Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (Alpas) Kontra Covid-19 program. (PNA)
